


Survivors

by JaePanic



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Erotic Handholding, First Kiss, Kissing in the Rain, Love Confessions, M/M, Medical Conditions, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rating May Change, Rough Oral Sex, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Survivor Guilt, Trauma, Wilderness Survival, as if that wasnt painfully obvious, i hate mushrooms so fuck it new planet, inner turmoil, insubordinate survivalist stone putting that training to good use, ivo doesnt know how to express feelings that aren't anger, ivo learns to put his trust in another, one of those phds has to be in medicine right, virgin robotnik
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:21:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23056882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaePanic/pseuds/JaePanic
Summary: Stranded on a hostile and unforgiving planet, with no machines and no hope of rescue, Doctor Robotnik realises that until now he has underestimated not only Agent Stone's competence, but also the extent of his own feelings for him.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone
Comments: 99
Kudos: 234





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the amazing reaction to my last fic, I've never written for an active fandom before so all your lovely comments took me completely off-guard <3
> 
> This is planned to be 5 chapters AT LEAST, so strap in lads.

The seconds before Robotnik was sent spiralling through an interplanetary portal-thanks to machinations of a blue demon and a meddling hick cop- were very much a blur. He remembered a flash of blue light, felt the surge of electricity coursing through every fibre of his being as the creature made contact with his prototype jet, the outer shell of the machine crumpling under the force of impact as it was set hurtling backwards into the waiting maw of the ring portal.

And then, strangely… he heard the familiar din of a car horn, somehow cutting through the noise as he felt a sharp pain in his left side. The sound reverberated and rang out in his ears as he placed a hand against his stomach, looking down to see his gloved hand soaked in red as his vision filled with static, and he swiftly lost his fight against the darkness clawing at him from all sides.

He had no idea how long he had spent falling, and even less how long he was unconscious.

His memories were fragmented, a flash here, a feeling there, but almost always pain. It was his one constant as he drifted in and out of the darkness. 

Ivo had never feared death, never even considered it a possibility for himself. An unparalleled intellect such as his would be wasted as worm food, and if anyone were capable of defeating the final boss of life itself, well… naturally it could only be him.

Now as it clung to him, gnawing at his insides and threatening to swallow him whole at any moment, Robotnik felt fear for the first time in decades.

He was certain he had screamed, he must have, either from pain or fear, or just in a desperate attempt to ward off the shadows lurking in the corners of his vision, creeping ever closer. Each time, however, something pulled him away from their grasp, kept him anchored. 

An echo of a voice, the sound of his name being called.

Pressure on his hand and against his cheek.

Brown eyes.

—————

He awoke to a rhythmic rustling sound, bleary-eyed and doing his best to focus on the unfamiliar canopy above him. Dark grey tarp, fluttering against a steady wind. He attempted to prop himself up on his elbows and survey his surroundings, only to double over in pain clutching at his side, looking down to discover the upper half of his flight suit missing and a large section of his undershirt hacked to pieces as if with a pair of scissors. 

Pulling the jagged edges of the fabric aside he found a large square of gauze held in place with neat strips of surgical tape. Had he more time to reorder his thoughts, perhaps his better judgement would have won out, but at this moment he was running on pure instinct and he never had been good at suppressing his curiosity. 

Peeling up the edges of the dressing revealed a wound, six centimetres in length, sitting just above his hipbone. He remembered the flashes of light, the blood on his hands, the sharp, searing pain in his side… Now, the wound was closed with eight perfectly even sutures, almost expertly so. A metallic glint caught his eye off to the side and he discovered that the makeshift bed he had been laying on was surrounded by a myriad of medical equipment. 

A first aid box was lying thoroughly ransacked, supplies strewn haphazardly across the rocky ground beneath him, as if it’s user’s life had depended upon access to it’s contents, (though he supposed now that it had in fact been his life that had been on the line). 

He didn’t have time to investigate further, however, as a cry from the entrance of the tent caused him to jump and instantly dart out a hand in search of a weapon. His fingers closed around the handle of a scalpel, which he proceeded to brandish shakily in the direction of the intruder as panic began to overtake him.

“What are you _doing?_ You’re going to tear your stitches-!”

Silhouetted against the light of a blazing, alien sun, was the harried face of Agent Stone. Robotnik squinted as the harsh glare caused dark spots to pepper his vision, leaving enough of an opening for the other to grab hold of his superior’s wrists and begin to wrestle him back down to the ground. 

“Sto-Stone, get your hands _off of me_ -what happened?” His voice came out as barely a whisper, his tone strained as if he had to drag the words out by force. 

“You need to lay down-“ Stone ripped the scalpel from his grasp but Ivo was still struggling, as futile as his attempts were. No one had dared lay their hands on him like this in years… had his assistant always been this strong? The agent’s muscles strained against the fabric confines of his battered, ash-stained shirt and as the two of them tumbled to the ground Robotnik could see the panic and concern in his eyes, as they came face to face for the first time in… what could it have been? Days? Weeks?

“With all due respect, doctor,” Stone’s voice was firm, and carried an authoritative air to it that Ivo had never heard, and had certainly never been directed at him before, “I didn’t drag you out of the blazing wreckage of that contraption just for you to die of blood loss on me now.”

The two of them locked eyes, and Robotnik strained hopelessly against the other’s grasp, his breathing heavy and ragged as he readied an insult, intent on tearing into his self-professed saviour for such insubordinate behaviour… Only for the words to leave his mouth as nothing more than a heavy sob, as he finally recognised the weary, but unafraid gaze from the same deep brown eyes that had cut through the darkness threatening to consume him, and the voice that had called him back to the land of the living.

Stone released his hold on Ivo’s wrists, and the doctor covered his face with his hands in a desperate attempt to obscure the tears that now rolled down his face. What little resolve he had left was thoroughly shattered as the reality of the bleak situation where the two of them now found themselves finally began to sink in.

As he attempted to curl up into himself, so consumed with shame that he couldn’t bear the thought of Stone of all people seeing him like this, he felt the other’s hands on him once more, pulling him closer, but was so exhausted that he couldn’t bring himself to resist this time.

He dragged the back of his hand across his reddened eyes, opening them only when he felt the agent’s hand come to rest on the back of his head. Stone was slowly running his fingers through his hair, smoothing down the errant locks that fell across his face as the doctor now lay with his head resting in the agent’s lap.

As much as he swore that he loathed physical contact of any kind, the sensation of Stone’s nails gently raking across his scalp was oddly… soothing, and as his heavy eyelids fluttered closed again, he found himself deeply grateful for the other’s presence.

“It’s okay, Sir…” Stone murmured softly, “I’ve got you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is a little short, hopefully the last scene makes up for it!

Robotnik didn’t know how long he had spent lying with his head cradled in his assistant’s lap, nor did he care to think about it, lest he sink even deeper into the mire of self-loathing in which he now resided.

How could his plans have gone so horrifically awry? 

More importantly, how could he allow Stone to see him in such a state?

He chanced a glance up at the other, black eyes examining his subordinate, as if he hoped to acquire the answers for the myriad of questions currently swirling around in his mind from his appearance alone.

Stone looked terrible. He was pale, with deep, dark circles set in under his bloodshot eyes as if he hadn’t slept for days. The hands the agent had used to pry Robotnik’s boney fingers away from the scalpel’s handle only moments prior were bandaged from wrist to finger tip, with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbow exposing forearms dotted with smaller cuts and burns.

“How long has it been?” Ivo asked.

“Four days.” Came the response from Stone, his tone was calm and matter-of-fact, completely devoid of his usual cheery disposition.

_Four days_. Had he really been out for such a short while? From the way his body ached, Stone could have told him he had been in a year-long coma and he’d have believed it.

“What happened to me?” 

_‘What happened to you?’_ He thought to himself, as his eyes lingered on the other’s bandaged fingers. He felt a twinge of something cold and uncomfortable in his chest. Was this… guilt? Concern? Impossible.

“You had shrapnel lodged in your side, I removed it and patched you up as best I could.” 

_As best he could?_ Those were some of the cleanest stitches Ivo had ever seen. With every word the other uttered, more questions were raised and his frustration mounted. He’d built the entire image of himself around always being the one in the know, prided himself on being the man with all the answers, but now the slate had been wiped clean and he was completely in the dark. And he _hated_ it.

He felt heat rushing to his face, whether from anger or embarrassment, he couldn’t quite tell, but he turned his face away from the other regardless, unable to bear his piercing gaze any longer.

“What the hell happened to my prototype.” He grumbled.

“It’s probably best if you see that for yourself, Sir.”

“So take me to it.” Ivo slowly pushed himself up and off of the other, keen to focus on something that he could control, so he could spend less time fixating on things that he couldn’t. Like how warm the agent’s thighs were, and how loath the doctor was to remove himself from them…

“You _really_ need to rest-“

“That wasn’t a request, agent.”

Stone hesitated, clearly weighing up his options. The man was so easy to read he might as well have had giant cartoon gears hanging over his head, ticking away as he debated whether it was worth tussling with the doctor and risking further injury, or going along with him in the hopes of lessening the damage as much as possible.

A few moments passed and Ivo grew impatient, sneering dismissively as he began his second attempt to stand, only for Stone to grab a hold of his arm, slinging it over his shoulder and winding his own arm around the doctor’s waist to help him balance. He let out a heavy sigh as Ivo flinched at the twinge of pain that shot out from his side as he regained his footing. 

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

—————

Only upon emerging from their hideout, with some support and assistance from Stone, did Robotnik discover the extent of their situation in full, hideous detail.

The moment they stepped outside he had to shield his eyes from the blinding light of an unfamiliar sun, stumbling a little as he attempted to find his footing for the first time in days, feeling agent Stone’s grip on his waist tighten instinctively as he faltered. He didn’t have time to linger on that observation, however, as he surveyed the seemingly endless rocky, barren landscape that stretched out into the horizon in all directions, the one feature that broke up such a hopeless scene being the last thing he had hoped for.

The burnt-out husk of his prototype jet lay in pieces before him, far beyond any hope of repair, he could tell that much even from a distance. The grief he felt at the loss of such a precious creation must have shown on his face, as Stone squeezed his arm a little tighter and cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, doctor. I prioritised you over the machine… the engine blew not long after I pulled you out.” Stone spoke clearly, and yet his voice seemed distant and echoed in Robotnik's ears as if he were speaking to him from the other side of a long, dark tunnel.

Ivo felt a sharp pain behind his eyes and suddenly his world was upside down, the acrid stench of blood and smoke filling his nostrils as his vision was overcome by dark, billowing clouds and ruthless flames.

The searing pain set his nerves alight and spread so swiftly it felt like every neuron in his brain was firing at once. He must have fainted, as he felt his legs give way beneath him and his body collide with Stone’s as he fell, his mind sent spiralling back into the murky depths of unconsciousness that he had only just managed to escape.

—————

The next thing he knew-once his mind had hurtled back into his body-he was back in his makeshift bed, sweat dripping from every pore as he lay there shivering.

Stone was kneeling beside him, leaning over to press a cool, damp cloth against his forehead, attentive as ever, even despite his prior warnings of such an eventuality.

“Don’t say it.” Ivo groaned, wincing a little as he attempted to open his eyes, a flurry of sparks assaulting his vision as he did so. He sighed, turning his head towards Stone and away from the light that was just starting to fade as the sun crept slowly towards the horizon.

The relief that spread across his companion’s handsome features was unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. The faint hint of a smile that tugged at the corners of Stone’s mouth caused a wave of anomalous warmth to spread across his face and he found himself praying that his broken, treacherous body didn’t betray as much to the eagle eyes of his doting assistant.

“Sir?” The other enquired, pressing the cloth against his burning cheek.

“Don’t you _dare_ say you told me so.”

Even with his vision impaired, he could clearly see the other’s attempt to stifle a laugh, and he himself had to fight back the impulse to follow suit.

“Of course not, doctor. Let me get you some painkillers.”

—————

Robotnik quickly found out, once the sun had finally sunk below the horizon, that like it’s earthly counterpart, their environment was just as chilling at night as it was scorching hot during the day. 

Having fetched the doctor a handful of painkillers and a half-empty bottle of water, Stone had gathered up every available blanket that had previously been strewn around the tent haphazardly and thrown them over him instead. Ivo had been on the verge of expressing some mild form of gratitude for the gesture, only to have the words catch in his throat as the other lay down beside him and wound his arm around the doctor’s midsection. 

The warmth of Stone’s body pressing up against his was blissful, but such an action was enough to send his mind racing with ideas, possibilities, hopes… all things that had never so much as crossed his mind until now. 

What the hell had gotten into Stone?

What the hell had gotten into _him?_

“What on earth do you think you’re doing, Stone?” He hissed, not daring to glance down at the other for fear he would see how red his face was by the light of the solar-powered flashlight that now lit their shelter.

“Would you rather freeze?” Came the agent’s mumbled reply.

“Don’t answer a question with another question, agent.”

He might not have been able to see the other, but he could feel the motions of Stone shrugging as he brushed up against his shoulders, before he reached up to switch off the light.

“You didn’t complain the last few nights.”

“Wha-I was _unconscious!_ ”

“Do you want me to go?” 

The other’s words hung in the air as they both lay there motionless, at a complete stalemate, neither of them willing to make the first move for fear of what the other’s reaction might be, and more importantly: what that might mean for the both of them going forward.

“No… stay.” Came the doctor’s response after a lengthy pause, his breath catching a little in his chest as he felt Stone press a little closer. “This is deeply inappropriate, agent…”

“You can write me up at my next quarterly review, Sir.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all like pain! :'D

When Robotnik awoke the following morning, Stone had already snuck away and begun busying himself with tidying away the mess of equipment and medical supplies that had been cluttering up their shelter during Ivo’s unconscious spell.

On the one hand he was grateful for being spared another awkward conversation regarding their sleeping arrangements, but on the other, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of discomfort-it couldn’t possibly be guilt-as he watched Stone stow away packages of gauze and rolls of surgical tape, all the while flinching as his own bandaged fingers restricted his movement and caused him obvious pain.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” he enquired once Stone had everything safely packed away.

Stone shrugged, “You already know the gist of it.”

“I need details, Stone, how am I supposed to devise a way for us to return home and finish what we started, if I don’t know how we got here in the first place?”

“What _you_ started, doctor.” He closed the lid of the first aid box sharply, his expression steely, before getting to his feet.

Robotnik was caught off-guard. Where had this side of Stone surfaced from? He had tolerated his little retorts so far, but this was something different. There was a bitterness in Stone’s voice that he’d never heard before.

He narrowed his eyes and attempted to sit up, flinching as the wound in his side gave him a warning jolt. 

“Stone, do you have something you need to say to me? Get off your chest, perhaps?” he attempted to assume the same level of calculated flair and disdain that he had always carried, but found himself struggling. It was hard to carry off an air of superiority when you were lying broken in front of the subordinate responsible for your rescue, and even more so when the genuine concern he was feeling for the other’s wellbeing was beginning to creep into his voice and expression.

“Not particularly, Sir.” came the non-committal response, as Stone placed the first aid box inside what appeared to be a standard issue army rucksack.

Ivo sneered, the other’s refusal to be straight with him was infuriating him far more than his outright insubordination. “Surely you must do, as you appear to hold me responsible for our current predicament…” and honestly why shouldn’t he? With every word that left his mouth he found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the mire, guilt and regret clawing at him as he desperately tried to stay afloat.

“Who else, doctor?” Stone turned back around, his voice weary and his face more resigned than resentful. “That blue creature, running for it’s life because you wanted to dissect it?”

“That creature was a threat to all of us, Stone. Would you rather I had let it run rampant, or worse, let it fall into the hands of our enemies?”

“I don’t know, doctor, that’s not my job-“

“Remind me what is your job, agent, because I’m failing to see how you questioning my judgement falls into your job description.” Seething, misdirected anger was overtaking him, seeping into every word.

_Stop._ He found himself thinking. _Just stop, you don’t mean any of this._

“It’s my job to keep you safe, Sir.” Stone’s voice was quiet, choking on the final word as if it caused him physical pain to utter.

“Oh how wonderful!” Ivo threw up his arms dramatically, growling when his injured side twinged in protest, “Let me just congratulate you on a job well done, agent, truly _outstanding!_ ”

Stone fell silent, his jaw clenched in a way that betrayed his conflicting emotions. A cold fury burned in his eyes, but the way his bandaged hands trembled and grasped on to the shoulder straps of the rucksack, trying to ground himself, showed how deeply wounding the doctor’s words had been.

The following moments were silent, and so tense that the doctor realised he had been holding his breath the entire time, waiting and secretly pleading for Stone say something, anything. It felt like he was drowning in a sea of his own mistakes, and too ashamed to even attempt to fight the current dragging him down.

“Someone has to save you from yourself, doctor.” Stone’s voice cut through not only the silence, but right to his core, causing the doctor to exhale sharply and turn away, his scowl deepening. 

How was it that he was able to see through him so effortlessly?

“I don’t remember asking you to save me.” He muttered, pointedly refusing to meet the agent’s gaze.

“You don’t have to. I’m always going to be here.”

Those words hung in the air as Stone turned away and busied himself with retrieving something for them to eat from a box of ration packs. He would have to enquire where Stone had gotten half of the objects currently stacked up at the back of their tent, but at that moment the doctor was distracted by the rather pointed rumbling in his stomach.

How was Stone always one step ahead of him?

Come to think of it… it had always been this way, from the moment they had first met. Stone had been a quick learner, adapting to the doctor’s chaotic nature surprisingly well, to the point where at times he wouldn’t even have to ask, Stone would simply be there with whatever he needed. 

They had made a good team, and even now, on this far-off planet with no chain of command, no hierarchy or any real reason why, he was still there.

Was this… loyalty? Stupidity? Now more than ever Ivo lamented the loss of his machines. They were easy, if there was a problem it could either be fixed or replaced. Human beings were messy, unnecessarily complex, and as he was slowly beginning to realise, agent Stone was not one so easily replaceable. 

He cleared his throat, “Come here, Stone.” He ignored the protest grumbling of his stomach, that could wait. He had something more important to attend to first. “Bring the first aid kit.”

Stone knelt down beside him, eyebrows knitted together in concern, “Did you tear your stitches?”

“No.” Ivo sighed, holding both his hands out, palms up. “Give me your hands, agent.” 

After a moment’s hesitation, Stone set the first aid kit down beside him and placed his bandaged hands on to the doctor’s waiting palms. Ivo tutted to himself as he began to inspect the other’s work, it had the same expert touch as his own stitches, but he could tell that it had been a few days since the bandages had been changed. Stone had spent far more time attending to _him_ than he had to himself it would seem, as if his tired, sunken eyes weren’t evidence enough of that fact.

He rummaged around in the first aid box until he found a pair of gloves, snapping them on without a moment’s thought and getting to work with the robotic efficiency that had made him infamous. Unwinding the old bandages revealed a series of largely first degree burns spread across Stone’s palms all the way up to his fingertips. The damage may have been-thankfully- superficial, but he didn’t doubt that they had been painful to obtain, and could certainly cause further problems for him if he continued to neglect them.

“Stone.” He said warningly.

“Yes, doctor?…” he heard resignation in the other’s tone, likely expecting another round of insults.

“You are to apply a petroleum-based ointment to these and change the bandages two to three times daily, do you understand? I’m sure you have the appropriate supplies in one of your many boxes of tricks you saw fit to bring with you halfway across the universe.”

Stone’s mouth fell open slightly, likely from the shock of hearing the doctor express such an outward display of concern for another, Ivo presumed. 

“I asked you a question, agent.”

“Y-Yes, sir. I’ll try-“

“No, you _will_ , Stone, that’s an order.” He proceeded to demonstrate, paying close attention to the other’s expression as he looked up at him through thick, dark lashes, careful not to take too long or cause him more pain than was necessary to treat him.

As he wound the final length of bandage around Stone’s right wrist, securing it with a strip of surgical tape once it was cut, Stone’s fingers closed around his gloved hand. His first instinct was to snatch his hand away and brush the gesture off as needless sentimentality on the other’s part, but something else urged him to stay.

Stone carefully peeled away the glove and discarded it, holding Ivo’s bare hand between his two freshly-bandaged ones. For once, Stone was the one unable to meet his gaze, his head bowed and eyes obscured by those same dark lashes as before.

“Thank you, doctor.” His voice escaped his lips as barely a whisper, and Robotnik watched as tears began to roll down his reddened cheeks, leaving tracks in the ash and dust that coated them both as they fell to the cold ground beneath their feet.

“It’s the least I can do.”


	4. Chapter 4

Robotnik allowed Stone to remain beside him for several minutes, clutching the doctor’s hand between both of his own, remaining silent while the other sniffled and tried to fight back the tears that continued to roll down his face regardless.

Was such a small gesture as tending to his wounds really so significant to Stone? Why? Robotnik-by his own admission- was no expert on emotions, but he couldn’t shake the suspicion that there was something more to it, something lurking there under the surface that he had only just begun to uncover. 

He slowly withdrew his hand from Stone’s grasp, watching the other avert his gaze and shrink back into himself a little at the loss of contact. Impulsively, he reached out and placed his hand under the agent’s chin, gently lifting it up until their eyes met once more, black meeting sparkling brown.

Stone’s eyes were wide in surprise and disbelief, and truly even he didn’t know what had compelled him to do such a thing, but he found himself carefully wiping away the tears still lingering on the other’s cheeks with the pad of his thumb all the same.

“Now, now agent, no more of that.” He cleared his throat and did his best to keep his tone even, attempting to disguise his inexperience with such matters with as much of an air of business-as-usual as he could manage, however antithetical it may be to their current situation. “We’ve got work to do.”

—————

The doctor instructed Stone to provide him a full inventory of their supplies and equipment, and while the agent was otherwise engaged, Robotnik helped himself to a toolbox and decided it was time to assess the full extent of the damage to his prototype jet.

The blazing sun beat down upon him as he lifted the tent door open and squinted against the sudden assault of blinding light, toolbox in one hand and a block of hardtack from his ration pack in the other. His stomach grumbled and he took a bite of the flavourless foodstuff in an attempt to sate it as he gingerly made his way across the rocky surface of the planet, concentrating on watching his step as he approached the jet, manoeuvring around shards of metal and scorch marks as he did so.

It would never fly again, that much was obvious from the absence of the turbines to the burned out husk of the engine, but there was always a chance that some usable parts remained, and now more than ever he couldn’t let a single shred of tech go to waste, no matter how small it might be.

He placed a hand on the hull of his prized creation, it was cold, despite it’s blackened appearance, and his fingers were smeared with soot as he let his hand fall back down to his side. To think that all his hard work could be undone in an instant, that was the price he had paid for his hubris, he supposed.

As he made his way around, bent on assessing its outward appearance as comprehensively as possible before he began the daunting task of taking it apart, he stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes fell upon the wreckage of another vehicle, half-obscured by a jagged rock formation in a way that it would have been impossible to see from the tent.

Upon closer inspection, Ivo recognised it immediately as the truck he had gifted to Stone not two months prior. Well, Stone had called it a gift, as he had thanked the doctor profusely and even attempted to _hug_ him upon being presented with the keys. The doctor had chastised him and brushed off his entirely unnecessary display of gratitude, calling it a work expense that would allow Stone to perform his job more efficiently without the need to scramble the entire fleet of black vans he and his fellow agents usually travelled with. Ivo’s whims were unpredictable and he needed Stone to be on call and ready to get to work at a moment’s notice, he had said. Looking back on it now, however, he wondered why he hadn’t just humoured Stone and allowed him to think of him as a man capable of some small act of kindness, after all, it had pleased him to see the other so happy…

He took a rather aggressive bite of his rations as he attempted to shake the uncomfortable memories from his mind, approaching the truck as he scanned the surrounding debris, beginning to piece together the possible series of events that could have resulted in the two of them becoming stranded on this godforsaken hell planet. If Stone wasn’t going to enlighten him, he was perfectly capable of uncovering the truth for himself. At least he now knew where the other had acquired the equipment and medical supplies from, as he had always impressed upon Stone to be prepared for all eventualities. He supposed he should be grateful that the other had taken it to heart.

The truck was upright at least, albeit with the hood caved in, windshield and several windows shattered and a front wheel missing. The driver’s side door was open, and as he leaned his head inside to investigate further, a deep frown began to set in on his face, exacerbating his already dour expression. The airbag had deployed successfully, but the seatbelt showed signs of being cut away and the heavily dented door kicked open. Stone had been trapped inside and forced to break his way out.

He didn’t want to consider it. For some reason the thought of Stone waking up in the battered remnants of his truck, alone, disorientated and afraid made him feel ill. He convinced himself that it must be a result of not having eaten for several days, as he forced himself to chew and swallow the remaining few bites of hardtack, balling up the silver wrapper and tossing it into the backseat. He wouldn’t be able to get anything done if he kept being distracted with thoughts of food… or Stone for that matter.

He punched the airbag petulantly, jumping a little as it deflated and his fist connected with the horn. The loud blare echoing off the surrounding rock formations and sparking a memory from the fogginess in his mind that still surrounded the events of the past few days. The car horn he had heard before the ring portal had claimed him, _of course_ , that had to have been Stone. He had been so close, riding to his rescue only to be caught in the crossfire and taken down with him.

A crunching sound from beneath his feet caught his attention and he looked down to see glass littering the ground, interspersed with dried spots of reddish-brown, which with a cold sinking feeling in his chest he recognised immediately as blood. A trail lead away from the truck and back towards the jet, Ivo followed it purely on instinct, his desperation for answers overriding the nagging fear in the pit of his stomach about what he might find at the end of it.

As he approached the prototype once more he made his way around to the far side of the vessel, the side he had yet to inspect before becoming distracted by the appearance of Stone’s truck, but what he found there made him wish he had never succumbed to his cursed curiosity. 

The the rocky surface that the jet had finally come to rest on was marred with deep, splintering cracks and scorch marks, but what sent a chill through every nerve within him was the blood. The ground was painted like a crime scene, long-dry but shocking in the scope of its spread, pooled below the hull of the ship and seeping down into the cracks in the jagged ground. It was a horrific amount, no human being could survive the loss of such a volume, and no matter how Ivo might proclaim his superiority to the human race at large, even he couldn’t escape such a biological impossibility.

The sound of footsteps approached him from the side, and as he turned to face Stone, his expression was harried, searching for answers that deep down, he already knew, he just needed to hear them from Stone.

“Did I die?” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Almost.” Came the response, Stone taking his ever so familiar place at his side, as they both oversaw the carnage that should have been his final resting place. The end of his story.

“How-“ 

Stone simply rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a darkly bruised, piercing wound in his inner elbow. A transfusion? The risks associated with performing such a procedure in as dire circumstances as theirs would have been astronomical, Stone would have to have been insane to even attempt such thing.

“It was a one in a million chance,” The agent spoke with a confidence that belied just how hard his decision must have been, to roll the dice and risk killing him in the process, or stand by and watch him bleed out on the scorched earth. “but I had to try.”

_“Why?”_ The doctor was so lost for a reason why Stone chose to persist where he had every reason and opportunity to quit, to finally be free of his superior’s mood swings, mistreatment and impossibly high standards. After everything he had put him through, over the years they had been assigned to one another, what kept him there when all his predecessors had fled?

What about Robotnik could possibly inspire such loyalty in a man like Stone?

What about him could Stone possibly think was worth saving?

"I think you know, Doctor." Stone murmured, as he slid his hand around Ivo's own, interlacing their fingers and squeezing gently as he offered him a smile so disarming that it set the doctor's heart racing.  His blood, _Stone's blood_ , coursed through his veins like nothing he had ever felt before. 

Stone had feelings for him, and what terrified him the most to finally realise, was that the feelings were painfully, all-consumingly mutual.


	5. Chapter 5

To Ivo’s eternal relief, Stone had allowed the time they had spent hand in hand pass without further comment. He had handed the doctor a notepad with a full itinerary of their remaining supplies neatly laid out in his familiar cursive and Robotnik had promptly thrown himself back his work to avoid having to dwell on the implications of their conversation any further. A practise he was very well versed at by now.

Scanning the list quickly caused a deep frown to set in on his already troubled features. Stone had been well prepared for a variety of possible disasters, that much was certain, but he couldn’t possibly have had the foresight to predict that any of them were likely to be as severe or extended as their current situation.

The tools were helpful but not vital, food could be rationed, the medical supplies would run out eventually but the most pressing concern he could see was their _water_. As it stood, four and half bottles would be nowhere near enough to last them both until Robotnik had devised a way for them to return home. 

He thought back to how Stone had attempted to sooth his fever with a damp cloth against his forehead the day before and had the sudden urge to berate him for wasting such a valuable resource, but he bit his tongue once his scrambled thoughts came to the realisation that he hadn’t actually seen Stone drink anything himself in the time he had been conscious. That coupled with his frankly haggard appearance led him to believe that he had in fact been forgoing his own share in favour of keeping the doctor alive.

“Goddammit, Stone.” He muttered under his breath as he flipped the notepad closed and flung it back at the other, Stone flinching a little as he caught it flat across his chest, “You are to drink the remainder of that fifth bottle of water immediately.”

With the sheepish look of a man thoroughly found out, Stone nodded and tucked the notebook under his arm, “Sorry to worry you, Doctor.”

Robotnik snorted and averted his gaze, pretending to be preoccupied with assessing his prototype once more. “Who said I was worried? You’re simply no use to me dead.”

“Of course not, Sir.” He could hear the smile in his voice, even if he very pointedly could not see it.

—————

Ivo had spent the remainder of the morning stripping out any and all vaguely useful parts he could find amongst the charred remains of his prototype, as well as Stone’s totalled truck. He retreated back to the shelter of their tent once the sun was so high it became unbearable to work under and forced himself to savour his few gulps of rationed water, as it would have to last them a fair while yet. 

They couldn’t stay here, that much was obvious. With no water-or any other resources for that matter- in sight, it was clear that they would have to relocate, and soon. Stone had surprised him upon his return with a fresh set of clothes, and glancing over the other’s shoulder, Ivo observed that he had spent his time stowing away their supplies with military precision and efficiency, their bags already packed and ready to go.

“I’ll dismantle the tent once the heat lets up, we should be able to get a decent amount of distance covered before we lose the light.” Stone chatted away idly from his place at the tent entrance where Robotnik had promptly banished him in order to change clothes. 

He traded his tattered shirt and the remaining lower half of his flight suit for the khaki coloured combat fatigues he surmised were once Stone’s from his time in active duty. They hung from his wirey frame in a deeply unflattering manner, and he supposed he couldn’t afford to get hung up on aesthetics at a time like this, but he certainly didn’t need yet another reminder of how well-built his assistant was in comparison to his own slight figure…

_ Focus, Ivo. _

“Not really your style, I know, but they’ll treat you better in this type of climate than that skintight suit.” 

Robotnik shot a look back over his shoulder to ensure Stone was still facing the other way (he was), allowing the other to continue to fill the silence with whatever inane nonsense that tumbled from his lips, anything to take his mind off the long and likely dangerous road they had ahead of them.

With the tent broken down and stashed away, Robotnik had reached down to grab one of the backpacks only for it to be snatched away and out of his grasp by Stone who promptly swung it over his shoulder and flashed him a reassuring smile. 

“I told you, you’ll tear your stitches if you’re not careful. So no heavy lifting.” Stone was one to talk. He already had his own pack firmly strapped to his back, yet showed no sign of so much as flinching as the additional bag doubled the load on his broad shoulders. 

“Don’t patronise me, agent, what about your hands?” This was met with as much of a shrug the other could manage under the weight of two fully-stuffed backpacks and a carry-all containing the pieces of their tent.

“I’ve already changed the bandages.”

“You know that’s not what I meant-”

“Come on, we need to get moving.”

Ivo had opened his mouth to protest but Stone was already setting a marching pace that, even unburdened, the doctor found hard to match without breaking into a half-jog just to catch up to him.

_ Goddammit, Stone. _

—————

The rocky, barren landscape stretched out endlessly in front of them and off to all sides. There had been a small amount of discussion regarding which direction they would head while they sheltered from the sun, but as Robotnick trudged wearily across the uneven ground, he had a hard time recalling exactly what the reasons were that had caused them to settle on their current trajectory.

There was one thing he was absolutely certain of, however, and that was that his feet fucking _hurt_.

Neither he, nor the singular pair of boots he now possessed were built for this amount of prolonged ambulation, and as he misjudged his footing on a particularly brittle shard of rock and tumbled down a small ridge, hitting the ground with a thud and string of muttered curses, he wondered how the hell someone as doe-eyed and soft as he had perceived Stone to be had managed to make it through basic training, let alone active combat, while his superior-in all facets besides physical- struggled to keep his balance on a fucking _hill_ of all things.

“Doctor!” Stone soon joined him at the bottom of the pit, effortless sliding down the incline without so much as a stumble and throwing his bags down without a second thought. “Are you hurt?”

“Of course I am, you imbecile, everything hurts.” He snapped, more agitated by the embarrassment of the fall itself than the pain it had caused to flare up in his right leg.

“Anywhere in particular?…”

The doctor huffed, resting back on a large rock and indicating the injured appendage, “Just my ankle, let me a rest a moment and I’ll be fine.”

Stone, insubordinate as ever, ignored him and promptly dropped to his knees, Ivo’s breathing catching in his chest momentarily as he did so, only for it to exit his lips in a shallow sigh as Stone cradled his foot in his hands and began removing his boot.

“It doesn’t seem broken or sprained,” Stone mused after a moment of inspection, gently digging in his fingertips and beginning to rub in slow circles that caused the doctor’s back to arch involuntarily at the warmth of his touch and the relief it brought to his swollen ankle.

“I told you, give me five minutes and I’ll walk it off.”

“It’s no surprise,” Stone continued, “This is probably the furthest you’ve travelled on foot in years.”

Ivo’s eyes narrowed, “What are you implying, Agent Stone?”

“Nothing, Sir,” the faint ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, teasingly, “If I had a state of the art self-driving mobile laboratory I’d ride it to the grocery store, the dentist... everywhere.”

Robotnik sighed and chose not to pursue the matter any further, a far cry from the days when he wouldn’t hesitate to give the agent a thorough verbal dressing down for daring to speak so out of turn. If he had, however, Stone might have stopped the blissful motions of his fingertips currently working out every knot and ounce of built up tension in his ankle, and he couldn’t have that.

What was he doing, thinking of the version of himself from only a matter of days ago as if he were a completely different person? It was absurd, but perhaps the experience had affected him in ways even he had yet to realise. 

Stone continued to work away at him for far longer that he deemed was necessary for such a minor injury, but he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to discourage him, not when he had the doctor on the verge of _purring_ under his ministrations, until he looked up at him again through those thick black lashes and threatened to send him over the edge of something else entirely…

“Feel good?” 

The agent really needed to choose his words more carefully. Or just cease speaking entirely. That would also work.

Ivo waggled his foot around rather exaggeratedly, as if he were attempting to shake off the feeling of having Stone’s hands on him, those skilful fingers leaving a lasting impression upon his skin even after he hurriedly returned to his feet. 

“Perfectly fine, thank you.” He muttered as he set off again, purposefully avoiding eye contact as he strode confidently back up the hill that had previously bested him, chastising the other as he went. “Come along, agent, don’t fall behind.”

“Aha… Doctor?”

“What is it, Stone?” He wheeled around, frustration laced with embarrassment etched into the lines of his face.

Stone simply offered him a smile and a gentle point of his index finger at an almost ninety degree angle away from the direction Ivo had been heading. 

“We’re heading _that_ way.”

—————

Upon settling down for the night once it became too risky to continue in the limited light that remained, Robotnik didn’t think he would ever get used to their current sleeping arrangements, nor would the moment that Stone settled down beside him, cause him anything other than despair at the utter indignity of it all.

Tonight, something was different, however.

Instead of reaching for the light immediately after he had taken his place at Robotnik’s side, Stone paused, placing a hand square in the middle of Ivo’s chest and casting him an inquisitive glance as he shifted closer, the torch painting the shadows of their bodies in stark relief in the dying light.

Stone was testing him, he concluded. Seeing how far he could push before he was reprimanded. 

It was a dirty trick to spring on an injured man at the end of a long, traumatic day, and Ivo almost felt pride at the sheer audacity.

In his sleepy, compromised state he wondered if he would he be crossing a line if he reciprocated. Stone was his subordinate after all. Not that he’d ever paid particularly close attention to what could be perceived as right or decent (by any normal person’s standards at least).

Hesitantly, he placed a hand over the other’s currently resting on his chest. It was warm, much like the rest of him currently pressed up against his side. A soft, appreciative murmur escaped Stone’s lips, and he in turn leant his head against Robotnik’s shoulder. 

The doctor felt his face redden for what seemed like the hundredth time since he had regained consciousness, but it wasn’t a wholly unpleasant feeling... and neither was the sensation of Stone turning his head to nuzzle into the crook of his neck, his unkempt hair brushing against the doctor’s jaw.

So taken was he by the simple, but disarmingly captivating gesture, that he didn’t notice Stone’s hand beginning to wander until it was already drifting down his abdomen and pausing to toy with the hem of his undershirt. Ivo’s breath caught in his chest as Stone slowly shifted his body so that he was half-lying over him, his leg sliding gently between his own, eliciting a soft gasp as his thigh strayed dangerously close...

“Doctor...” Stone’s lips brushed against his earlobe as he whispered softly, “I-“

He could feel his heart begin to race and his breathing quicken... but not from excitement. 

Where before he had felt warmth and reassurance he now felt cold, icy terror. It twisted in his gut and tore at him from inside, his hot, lifesaving blood now replaced with liquid nitrogen, crippling him with a fear so visceral he felt his heart could tear itself right out of his chest.

He knew the symptoms of a panic attack, but he had never expected to fall so low as to experience one first hand. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears, his breathing was shallow and frantic, hot and cold shivers coursed through him as he lay there frozen. His mind, however, was long gone. 

He was back in the prototype, hurtling through city streets at lightning speed, buildings, cars, people no longer registering to him at all, all reduced to nothing but blurs of sound and colour as he remained focused, single-mindedly pursuing his objective with a relentless fervour that he had never felt before. This was the culmination of everything he had been working for, his objective so close, almost within his grasp...

He grabbed Stone’s wrist and threw his arm off of him violently, rolling onto his side facing away from the other and trembling as he pulled the blankets up and over himself to obscure the shivering mess he had become. 

_ Don’t look at me. _

“Doctor-! Are you okay?” Stone’s voice was understandably panicked as he placed a hand against his shoulder, only to be shrugged off sharply as Ivo shrank even further into himself.

_ Don’t touch me. _

“I can’t sleep with you pawing at me all night.” he spat, tearing at his lower lip with his teeth in the hopes that he could disguise how shaky his voice was. “Keep your hands to yourself from now on.”

“I-I’m sorry... I thought-“ he might not have been able to see the other’s expression, but the sudden outpouring of shame and embarrassment in his voice was clear. 

“You thought wrong, agent.” Robotnik’s heart sank lower with every word that crossed his lips.

When a response came, Stone’s voice was nothing more than a whisper, “It won’t happen again, Sir.”

—————

Ivo didn’t know how long he had laid there staring at the side of the tent, wide awake and too afraid to close his eyes lest his unconscious mind conjure up more fresh horrors with which to torture him with. By the time the shivering and numbness had subsided and his breathing had returned to normal the sun was long since set, and he carefully rolled onto his back expecting Stone to be sound asleep by now.

Indeed his was, though fitfully, and facing the opposite side of the tent as he trembled slightly from the cold under the single blanket he had been left with following Ivo's abrupt rejection. The blanket draped across his form in a way that did nothing to hide how tightly he was hugging his makeshift pillow... the tattered remains of the jacket half of Robotnik's flightsuit.

For a moment he was overcome with the urge to reach out to him, to place a hand on those strong, broad shoulders and assure him that he didn’t think any less of him, far from it... 

He stared up at the roof of their tent as he realised that for the first time in his life, he found himself genuinely, _painfully_ concerned for another. It was a cloying, sickly feeling, made worse by the knowledge that it had been brought about solely by his own thoughtless actions and callous words. 

The cruel uncertainty of not knowing where they stood was tearing Stone apart, but no matter how it hurt to see him suffer like this, Ivo couldn’t even be honest with himself, so how could he possibly bring himself to be honest with Stone?


	6. Chapter 6

If Ivo had thought that this was the solution, that removing himself from the situation that caused him pain, rejecting the influence that sent his mind into turmoil, would have allowed him to finally focus on the pressing matter of their very survival, he was quite sorely mistaken.

Why couldn’t he think of anything but him?

Had the crash scrambled his brain so severely? 

Stone had approached him the following morning after he’d broken down their tent, with his face set and posture stiff.

“Doctor, I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour over the last few days.”

_No, Stone._ A cold knot began to twist in his stomach as the other’s words began to sink in. _You have nothing to apologise for._

“I’m sorry for acting so out of turn-“

_ You didn’t do anything wrong, it was me, it’s all me. _

He was slipping away. With every word that passed his lips Ivo could see Stone locking up, disappearing back into himself. Playing the good little soldier once more.

“-and for if I’ve at all distracted you from our mission.”

_ There is no mission, Stone.  _

The other man’s voice continued to echo in his mind as they trudged wordlessly through the rocky desert, with only the sound of their crunching footsteps and laboured breathing cutting through the strained silence between them.

_“I’m sorry”_ , those words came so easy to Stone, even as he was taking the fall for something so entirely out of his control. It had been so long since Ivo had had to face any real consequences for his actions, that at this point the phrase seemed almost alien to him, and even harder to bring himself to say.

That wasn’t for lack of trying. As they paused to rest, take a drink or shelter from the midday sun, the words would linger on his tongue, his heart rate quickening as he waited for the right time, the perfect opportunity to express what he didn’t quite understand, but could only be a deep sense of remorse.

Just as he seemed finally ready to vocalise it, however, Stone would gather up their bags and resume his march, causing the doctor to scramble to keep up with the other, and the words would die on his lips unspoken.

He was left with not only the guilt, but also the humiliation of his own continued failure to simply get a hold of himself. Brutal, unflinching honesty had never been a problem for him before, so why was he struggling so severely now?

Was it simply because the words seemed... inadequate? What exactly could he say that would properly communicate the way he was feeling, when even he didn’t know the full extent of the unfamiliar emotions? 

_ I’m sorry you were dragged halfway across the universe because of my complete lack of self control? _

_ I’m sorry I pushed you away because no one has ever laid their hands on me in a way that isn’t violent and the fact that you don’t confuses and utterly terrifies me? _

_ I’m sorry your affections are wasted on someone so incapable of returning them? _

Nothing even came close to encompassing both the feeling of intense safety and warmth he got when Stone smiled at him, tended his wounds and comforted him... and the suffocating horror that gripped him whenever he found himself completely at the mercy of his emotions. The fear that sent him right back into the cockpit of his damned prototype to relive what should have been his final moments, over and over and over again in his mind until he couldn’t take it any longer.

That night he had divided the blankets more equally between them as a form of peace offering, only for stone to crawl into bed and switch off their torch without comment, and Ivo hadn’t been able to bring himself to address it, either.

—————

This torturous cycle of events continued the following day. Then the next, and then the next. 

They would wake, take a few sips of water and a mouthful of food, break down the tent and start walking. They would march in silence for hours, pausing only when the heat became unbearable or when it was time for either of them to change their bandages. 

They would settle down when the light began to fade, and Ivo would lie awake staring up the roof of their tent. Stone no longer used his jacket as a pillow.

With every day that passed, his chances dwindled and his resolve wore away, until one night as he lay there with his head spinning and mouth parched from dehydration, he felt tears begin to well in his eyes as he realised that in all likelihood... they were both going to die on this planet, with Ivo too scared or too stubborn to be honest with Stone, even as the death he had so narrowly escaped before came clawing at him once again.

He had tried to choke back the sob that had threatened to escape his lips, but Stone must have been lying there as restlessly as he had, as the muffled sound appeared to draw his attention enough that he rolled over to face him.

“Doctor?” his voice was soft and raspy, and in the low light he could see those tired, sunken eyes were almost completely devoid of the spark that had never ceased to make his heart soar before they’d set out on their death march.

“I...” his own voice was hoarse from disuse, and every word felt like some insurmountable hurdle as he struggled to muster even the energy to lie. “I miss my machines.” was what he settled on in the end.

A moment of silence followed, Ivo watching Stone from the corner of his eye as the other turned his gaze back towards the roof of their tent, closing his eyes as if he intended to simply ignore him and return to his attempts at sleep... but after a few seconds he responded.

“I miss my bed.” his words were followed by a soft exhalation of breath which could have been mistaken for a laugh, if their circumstances weren’t so dire. 

“I miss my lab.” 

“I miss my truck.”

Back and forth they went. The prolonged silence between them finally broken by their mutual, desperate need to grieve. Everything they had lost, everything they would likely never see again.

“I miss my parents.”

At that, Ivo found himself unable to respond. The concept of having parents to begin with was such a non-entity in his life, that he hadn’t even considered the thought that Stone might have people out there to miss, and missing him.

What in all honesty could he say to that? Besides adding it to the seemingly endless list of things he would go to his grave regretting?

The only time he could think of when he had felt anything close to the warmth, the sense of belonging, of being cared for that he had read were supposedly the hallmarks of the feeling of “family” was...

“I miss your coffee.” he said without even thinking, the tears that had been pricking at the corners of his eyes finally breaking and rolling down his sunburned cheeks.

Stone didn’t hesitate for a second.

“I miss making you coffee.”

Something between a laugh and a sob spluttered past Ivo’s lips, and suddenly their hands were once again entwined, Stone grasping his with a strength that Ivo was at a loss for how he still possessed, but that he returned with every ounce that he could possibly muster. 

“Doctor,” Stone reached over with his unclaimed hand and attempted to wipe away his fallen tears, the same way the doctor had done for him barely a week ago, that now felt like a lifetime away. “Do you remember the day we first met?”

Ivo snorted, what an absurd question for a time like this, and besides, Stone knew full well that he had a photographic memory. “Of course I do, your predecessor was barely cold in the ground before the top brass sent you knocking at my door with a list of your meagre accomplishments in your hand and that ridiculous grin on your face... and I’ve been trying to get rid of you ever since.”

“784 days and still going strong!” Stone fired back. Ivo was momentarily taken aback as he paused to do the mental mathematics confirming that, yes, that was how long Stone had lasted at his side, demolishing the 62 day record set by his nearest predecessor. The doctor hadn’t realised Stone was even keeping track. A rueful chuckle rumbled in the other’s chest, and Ivo was struck by how desperately he had missed Stone’s laugh. “But that wasn’t the first time.”

Ivo furrowed his brow, scanning his-admittedly still rather scrambled- memory for some prior meeting, briefing or encounter where their paths could possibly have crossed, but came up empty. Instead opting to squeeze the other man’s hand gently, encouraging him to elucidate further.

“I was in my final year at the academy, and one day they brought you in to give a presentation. I can only assume against your will…”

Robotnik nodded, there was one such occasion, back when his star was still on the rise, when his higher-ups had deemed it necessary to have him demonstrate some early models of what would eventually become his precious Badniks. Familiarising the next generation of field agents who would be working alongside them with their “future partners” had been the goal of his superiors, the doctor had instead chosen to present them as “your replacements”, and had as a result, not been invited back the following year.

“You were… amazing.” Stone continued, “I’d never seen anything like it, and I don’t mean the machines. The way you spoke, the way you moved… I can’t say I understood even half of what you were talking about but… _I believed you_. I believed _in_ you. I don’t think I’d ever believed in anything as strongly as I did in that moment.”

Ivo watched as Stone’s expression morphed from a vaguely pained sense of nostalgia, to a softer, lighter look of reverie as he spoke about how he’d looked on, totally enraptured as Robotnik had continued to belittle not only the students present, but also the staff and the institute itself in the course of his tirade extolling the virtues of his creations, and of course his own genius. His words conjured up the image of a starry-eyed Stone gazing longingly back at him from a sea of agency candidates, while he himself was still too self-absorbed to realise the significance of that moment or even notice how attentively he hung on every seething word he had said.

“I… I had forgotten that.” He said after a while, his tone as close to apologetic as he could physically muster with that familiar wall around his heart still very much in place, despite Stone’s seemingly best efforts to break it down.

Stone shook his head and gently rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb, Ivo’s sunburned cheeks turning a slightly darker shade of red as he did so, “It’s not that important. I just need you to know, Doctor, that despite what you might think, I wasn’t assigned to work with you. I wasn’t forced, it wasn’t some kind of cruel joke or punishment from my superiors. I _chose_ to assist you.”

Ivo could feel his heartbeat quicken, and for a moment he braced himself for the no doubt inevitable panic that followed… but never came.

“After the-“ Stone hesitated, stumbling over his words a little in a way that seemed uncharacteristic of him, and for a moment his eyes grew dark and chilling in a way Ivo had never seen, but quickly faded almost as swiftly as it had appeared, “After I resigned from active service, I had my choice of assignments, cushy desk jobs or even a staff position at the academy if I wanted it. Apparently getting shot a few times will really bump up your resume…” 

He trailed off a little, with the bitter look of a man who had long since seen through the thin veneer of respectability and honour that obscured the true nature of the organisations and armed forces he had spent so many years a part of. “What I’m trying to say is, I could have gone _anywhere_ , done anything or just taken early retirement. But since that day, there was only ever one place I wanted to be, and that was at your side.”

Robotnik was on the verge of tears once more by the time Stone turned his head to face him again, shifting his body closer and bringing the doctor’s hand up to his lips to place a kiss against his knuckles.

“So if this really is the end of the line for us, I don’t want you to think that you condemned me to this fate-“

“Stone, stop-“ Ivo’s breath caught in his chest as he frantically struggled to protest, but Stone only held his hand tighter between his bandaged fingers and smiled, that same old smile that tore the walls around his heart to shreds.

“Listen-I am exactly where I’m supposed to be-”

“No! You can’t _possibly_ mean that-”

“Doctor, listen-“

“Don’t just throw your life away for-“

“Doctor-!”

“-someone who doesn’t deserve-“

“Listen!” Stone released his grasp on Ivo’s hand and grabbed his shoulders, roughly pushing him back against the hard ground beneath them before raising his hand in the direction of the canopy above them. For a second, Robotnik instinctively moved to shield his face with his hands, assuming rather absurdly that Stone had meant to strike him, before he heard a soft, almost rhythmic pattering against the plastic tarp that made up their shelter. 

He hadn’t noticed it, the sparse sounds of water hitting the roof of the tent, while he and Stone had been bickering, but now as they both sat bolt upright, staring wide-eyed back at each other as the heavens opened up above them, the noise was unmistakable. 

_ “Rain!” _

Suddenly, where before there had been nothing but the slow, resigned acceptance of a fate that had seemed set in stone between them, there was now an outpouring of frantic activity, as the two of them staggered to their feet on weary, worn out legs and tore through their remaining supplies to find anything and everything that could possibly hold liquid and rush out into the now surging rain. 

Too giddy with overwhelming joy and relief at their salvation, they neither noticed nor cared as they were quickly soaked to the bone, raspy, fried vocal chords erupting in delirious laughter as the rain hit their sore, desert dust stained faces. 

Sodden clothes clung to their haggard frames, and Ivo’s hair became plastered to his face as he stared up into the dense, black clouds above him, what few tears that remained left to cry rolling down his cheeks and quickly washing away along with the layers of grime and dirt that had covered them both from the moment they arrived on this strange, savage world.

When he looked back at Stone, he met his gaze almost immediately, and those gentle doe eyes shone brighter then in that fading twilight than he’d ever seen them in daylight. 

“Stone-“ he began, taking a step towards the other, then another, then another. His heart threatened to beat right out of his chest as he closed the distance between them and braced his trembling hands against the sides of his dear agent’s face, leaning in to press his forehead against Stone’s, their noses bumping softly as he whispered, “Stone, I…”

“I know, Doctor.” Stone concluded, as he placed a steady hand on the back of Ivo’s neck and pulled him closer, pressing their lips together at last.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a hard week, so please enjoy this incredibly self-indulgent fluff

Robotnik couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when all of the hesitation that had paralysed him for so long finally melted away, all he knew was that one moment he was shakily cradling the other man’s face in his hands and the next their lips were frantically clashing with all the cumulated desperation of a dozen nights spent in silent yearning.

It was… messy. The doctor’s inexperience with such matters was on full display, as he moved like he was attempting to devour the other rather than kiss him, and although he tried to compensate with eagerness, it wasn’t quite enough to make up for his lack of technique. As his nose bumped up against’s Stone’s for the third time, he felt the other pull back slightly, lips parting in a smile as he chuckled softly. 

His heart sank at the prospect that Stone was laughing at him, but the agent was quick to place a reassuring kiss against the corner of his mouth, “Sorry Doctor,” he murmured, “Your moustache tickles.” It was enough to leave them both giggling at the absurdity of the situation, and assuage at least some of Ivo’s worries. He supposed it had gotten a little unruly…

When Stone brushed his hair away from where it had stuck to his rain-slick face and leaned up to kiss him again, it was with a slow, quiet confidence that managed to captivate him to the point that he forgot the nagging doubts that still lurked at the back of his mind, at least for the time being.

Ivo draped his arms over the smaller man’s shoulders as he let Stone take the lead, their sodden clothes were sticking to them, though neither seemed to notice, so consumed were they with each other that the wind and rain that surrounded them faded away to nothing more than white noise. 

He exhaled with a soft moan as Stone nipped gently at his bottom lip, his eyes closing and lips parting to allow the other’s tongue to glide past and tangle with his own. The sensation was strange and it took him a moment to figure out just how to respond, Stone should have tasted just as sour and parched as he did, but the hint of something sweet lingered on his tongue as he teased at Ivo’s own, sending a shiver up his spine and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand to attention.

Gradually, and with a little more coaxing from the other, he reciprocated, his confidence slowly growing with every soft murmur and moan he managed to elicit from the other through gentle experimentation and by the time Stone pulled away for air they were both left breathless and panting. 

“Doctor,” Stone murmured, his forehead resting against Ivo’s own and tugging softly at the front of his sodden shirt, “Lets go back inside, I don’t want you to get sick.” 

Robotnik scoffed, such a concern seemed so trivial now, but he allowed Stone to slowly guide him back in the direction of their tent, leaving the various containers they had brought with them to overflow in their wake, and with every few steps dipping back down to claim the agent’s lips once more. 

Now that all fear and pretence had vanished, he was finding it hard to keep his hands off of him, and if Stone was in any way put off by his inexperienced fumbling, he didn’t show it. To the contrary, he seemed to be quite enjoying the attention as the doctor’s wandering hands drifted down and across his chest, where his soaking wet shirt clung to him leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

It was once they were safely back inside and Stone began to carefully unbutton Ivo’s shirt while trailing kisses across his scruffy, unshaven jaw, that the doctor became decidedly more hesitant. They had gone down this road before, and he was determined not to make the same mistake again, so as Stone reached the fourth button he placed his own hand’s over the other’s to stop him.

“Stone, I don’t know-“ Having to admit to his ignorance regarding any subject, even if it was only to Stone, was embarrassing enough for a man like Robotnik, but outing himself as a quite literal virgin when it came to physical matters? He found himself genuinely contemplating fleeing back outside to take his chances with the rainstorm. “I mean, I haven’t-“

Stone, seemingly an expert at reading the telltale signs of his continued struggles with his messy, unfamiliar, human instincts at this point, simply shook his head and smiled back up at him reassuringly. “I’m just getting you out of your wet clothes, Doctor. We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.” 

“I’m not really comfortable with any of this yet, Agent.” A look of slight hurt flashed across Stone’s face, his eyebrows knitting together in concern and for a moment Ivo regretted saying anything, reaching out to grab the other man’s hands as he tried to withdraw them, “But I want to be.”

Stone paused for a moment, then nodded, his smile returning as he reached up to caress his cheek, “Please don’t push yourself on my account, Sir. I’m not going anywhere.” He finally broke away as he moved to the back of the tent and began to rummage through one of the packs, Ivo in his heightened state feeling the loss of contact almost as dearly as that of his long abandoned prototype. “You change, I’ll get a towel.”

Robotnik quickly shimmied out of the borrowed pair of combat pants that hadn’t fit him anyway, before settling down crosslegged on a dry patch of ground facing the opening of the tent, content to watch the rain fall through a crack at the bottom where they hadn’t quite fastened it fully closed. He struggled a little with the buttons on his shirt, with his hands still shaking and the fabric dripping wet, but by the time Stone returned, his own clothes changed and with the towel and a dry set for the doctor, he had just about managed to peel the garment off and discarded it in a soggy heap in the corner with the combats.

He felt soft fibres brushing against his neck and couldn’t help but chuckle a little as Stone began to dry off his hair, offering him an impromptu head massage while he was at it. It was almost criminal how good the other seemed to be with his hands, or did he just know the doctor far too well? Either way, Ivo found himself closing his eyes and letting himself relax for what felt like the first time since they had first landed. No longer on guard, no longer afraid.

“Thats a beautiful tattoo, Doctor.” Stone mused after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them, addressing the intricate pattern of circuitry that ran down across the bicep of his left arm, stopping just short of his elbow. It was old and slightly faded, but executed skilfully enough that none of the details had been lost over time. “I never found the right time to mention it before, but it was quite a surprise when I removed your suit to perform the transfusion.”

“Hmm.” The doctor hummed appreciatively as he cracked open one eye and huffed softly, tilting his head back to look up at the other as he finished drying his hair. “I was young once too, you know.”

“I-I didn’t mean-you still _are_ , Doctor.” Stone spluttered, seemingly horrified that his words could be so misconstrued, and a smirk pulled at the corners of Ivo’s mouth to see him so indignant. 

“So why did I have to wait so long to find you, Stone?”

This seemed to throw the other off somewhat, and he paused the gentle massaging motions of his hands as he appeared to be considering exactly what to say next. The doctor worried if he had said too much, been too open about the dull ache of sadness that still lurked in the back of his mind when he thought about how much time he had wasted, now that he knew the full extent of Stone’s feelings and how long he had held them for.

Stone dropped the towel down across Ivo’s shoulders and took a seat behind him, winding his arms around his waist and leaning in to kiss his neck. The tender motion caused him to shudder from the contrast of the other’s warm touch against his cold, wet skin. “I guess… we’ll just have to make up for lost time, Sir.”

Ivo twisted his body around in the other’s loose grasp and managed to push him back onto their makeshift bed, the element of surprise making up for his lack of strength in comparison to his smaller companion. He crawled over the other, his movements careful and somewhat hesitant, but spurred on as he slowly took in the sight of his strong, confident saviour, now suddenly caught off guard and blushing brightly from the implications that came along with such a motion as well as the doctor’s current state of undress. 

He stopped to hover over the other, smirking playfully, palms flat against the blanket either side of Stone’s head, thoroughly enjoying the view as his look of surprise softened and he gazed back up at the doctor and smiled with a warmth that rivalled even that of the sun of this new world they now called home. 

“Come here.” Stone whispered, placing a hand against Ivo’s cheek, “I’ve missed this…”

The doctor narrowed his eyes momentarily at the nerve Stone must possess to try and issue him orders, but a few seconds of gazing into those softly pleading eyes was more than enough to break any resolve he may still have left.

He curled up against the other with his head resting against Stone’s chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat soothing his frayed nerves as the agent’s fingers drifted through his hair. Soon the two of them were nothing but a mess of tangled limbs and slow, languid kisses and he had to fight to keep his eyes open, even while the wind howled and the rain buffeted the sides of their tent.

“So much for not wanting me pawing at you anymore…” Stone teased once they begrudgingly broke away for air.

Ivo grumbled, hiding his face in the crook of the other man’s neck. “Turns out, you’re a lot harder to get rid of than I thought, Agent.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> write the domestic fluff you wish to see in the world.
> 
> can stone just kick down my door and give me affirmations already.

Robotnik awoke the next morning as Stone was carefully trying to extricate himself from the doctor’s grasp, and he instantly tightened his grip on the other’s shirt, earning him a faux-exasperated sigh as his agent slumped back down on the blankets.

“Doctor, let me fetch the water, we forgot to bring it in last night.” Stone murmured sleepily as he tilted his head to press his lips against Ivo’s temple.

“Five more minutes.” He insisted petulantly, prompting Stone to chuckle and lift a hand to gently play with the messy locks of hair that fell across his face, idly twirling a strand around his finger as the doctor hid his face in the crook of the other man’s neck.

Even in such dire circumstances as theirs, Stone still couldn’t bring himself to deny him, and Ivo wasn’t ashamed to say that he was taking full advantage of that fact. After all of the nights he’d spent lying awake, aching to feel his touch again, Stone was finally back where he belonged, in his arms and at his side. Like hell was he going to give that up for something as trivial as _water_. He would have happily laid there for hours with Stone gently running his fingers through his unkempt hair, if his stomach hadn’t let out a rather insistent growl.

“I’d say that’s your five minutes up, Doctor.” Stone said with one last kiss to his forehead.

Ivo groaned, screwing his eyes up against the light that was already seeping through the seems of their tent as that hellish alien sun began to rise. Stone’s smile was ever-present as always, and even as Ivo observed him-through heavily squinting eyelids- sit up, stretch and then slowly make his way to his feet, he was positively beaming. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Stone so happy. 

He buried his head under the blanket as Stone threw open the entrance to their tent, letting out an exasperated groan as coloured spots danced behind his closed eyelids. He could hear Stone laughing in the background.

“Doctor,” He heard the other address him once more after a few moments of lying there beneath the blanket, sulking at the loss of his companion’s presence beside him. “You’re going to want to see this.”

He threw the covers off immediately and stumbled to his feet, fearing the worst. Had their water containers toppled over in the storm? Had they been so hopelessly preoccupied with each other the night before to notice some new horror descending upon them?

He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he joined Stone outside, taking a moment to adjust to the change in lighting and then a few more just to grasp exactly what he was seeing.

Where before their surroundings had constituted of nothing more than scorched, uneven rocky terrain as far as their eyes could see, incapable of supporting any hope of life of any kind, there was now a complex web of rivers and tributaries, snaking out into the sunset in all directions. The shallow ditches and valleys that Ivo had previously struggled to traverse were now riverbeds that threatened to overflow with the sheer volume of water that surged along them. 

By some stroke of luck-or far more likely, Stone’s common sense- they had pitched their tent on one of the few areas of flattened, even ground that merely neighboured one of the larger streams, rather than blockade it. That certainly would have been a rude awakening, if they had woken, drenched, to find their tent and all their supplies floating away into the distance.

Stone startled him from his marvelling at the unprecedented scene before them by placing a brimming cup of water in his hands, before clinking a mug of his own against it with a soft uttering of “Cheers!” before he threw it back with gusto. Ivo didn’t need any more encouragement to follow suit. The liquid was crystal clear and might as well have sprung from the fountain of youth itself, the way that it alighted his senses as he slavishly drained the cup like a man possessed, gasping for air when he finally lowered it from his parched lips. 

Stone appeared to feel much the same way, as he breathed a heavy sigh of relief upon finishing his own, “Wow, that’s better than sex…” He murmured, eliciting an indignant huff from the doctor, who narrowed his eyes and shot the agent a judgemental glance and quirk of an eyebrow.

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it on that front.”

Stone grinned sheepishly and slid an arm around his superior’s waist, in a rather barefaced attempt to worm his way back into the doctor’s good graces after such an inappropriate outburst. “But you know what’s even better than that?” He dropped his cup to ground with a soft clattering as his free hand now tugged on the front of Ivo’s shirt.

A shiver ran up Robotnik’s spine as own mug dropped from his hand to join the other’s and his mind started to race through all the possible scenarios Stone may be concocting, in that sly, insubordinate mind of his, hair standing on end as Stone succeeded in popping open a button and sliding a hand beneath the fabric and Ivo felt his ever-treacherous body lean in to the touch.

“A-And what might that be?” He asked almost reflexively, though it didn’t take a genius to decode the agent’s thinly-veiled ruse, or so he thought.

“Getting to bathe for the first time in a fortnight.” Stone deadpanned, with a smirk.

“Wha-“ Ivo didn’t have time to retort or question, as before he realised what-or rather, where- the other had been gently leading him to while he was distracted by his touch, as the hand that had been caressing his chest only seconds prior had delivered a firm shove directly in his centre mass, and he was sent tumbling backwards, arms flailing gracelessly as he fell into the river that ran parallel to their tent.

The shock of the impact caused him to freeze momentarily, his brain working overtime to comprehend exactly what had just transpired, but as water filled his nose he began to instinctively kick out his legs and push himself back up to break the surface of the water with a deep, heaving gasp.

His eyes were wide with shock and anger at such a betrayal, and insults flowed from his mouth like a cobra spitting venom as he scrabbled to gain purchase in the rapidly flowing water. His agent simply stood there and laughed heartily as Ivo finally made it to his feet, discovering to his own mortification that the water was only waist deep at most, and he was left to stand there dripping and seething like a bedraggled cat.

“Stone, you _utter bastard_ , I swear-“

“Oh Doctor, you should have seen your face-“

“-I’m going to rip out your entrails and _throttle you_ _with them_ -“

“-you’re adorable-”

“ _Shut up, Stone!_ ”

His partner continued to gaze down at him, unbothered by his continued scorn and threats of physical harm, smiling beatifically. Despite his embarrassment, Ivo soon found it difficult maintain the full head of steam that had propelled him thus far. Why was it so hard for him to stay mad at Stone? The realisation of his affections for the other must have dulled his scalpel-sharp edge. What a terrible cliche. 

_ Goddammit, Stone. _

“There’s some soap in one of the bags, I’ll be right back.” As Stone excused him to go rifling through one of the packs, Ivo resigned himself to his fate with a sigh and began to unbutton his shirt, peeling the sodden fabric away and tossing it onto the riverbank. Looking down, he had a chance to inspect what remained of the wound which had very nearly been the death of him. Two weeks was nowhere near enough time to fully heal such a significant injury of course, but it was well on it’s way, the stitches having done their job as well as could be expected, though it was sure to leave an impressive scar.

No, it was Stone who was truly impressive. Performing surgery on your boss, while concussed, with burned fingers, would have likely been the undoing of even the most hardened of field medics, adding in the need for a transfusion and the combined fear of losing not only someone he cared so deeply for, but also his only companion on this new world… Stone must have nerves of titanium.

Lost in thought, he almost didn’t notice when Stone had returned, clutching a black clamshell container which he assumed contained the promised bar of soap. He had to do a double take, however, as he realised Stone had already taken the liberty of stripping down to just his underwear (boxer briefs, plain black, no visible branding, _not that he was looking_ ), and was now sitting on the edge of the water, legs swaying casually below the surface.

“You want to go first?” His chin rested on the back of his hand as he propped his elbow up on his knee and offered the soap box to the doctor, the ghost of a smirk playing on his lips as he noted Ivo’s very pointed use of direct eye contact only, lest he be caught leering at his painfully attractive companion.

He snatched the soap container out of Stone’s hand and turned away, intent on doing his damnedest to ignore the other, having still not forgiven him for causing him to take such an unceremonious dive. That endeavour was made considerably more difficult, however, once he heard the sound of another body slipping into the water behind him and felt Stone press up against his own. 

Suddenly every hair on his body was standing on end once more and shivers darted across his skin like an electric current at every point that Stone’s wandering hands drifted across. Try as he might, the moment Stone’s fingers began to trace the intricate lines of the tattoo on Ivo’s arm, his resolve completely evaporated, and he turned to pull the other back into a tight, possessive embrace. 

“Don’t you dare do that again, do you understand me, Stone?” He hissed, punctuating every few words with quick, forceful kisses.

“Understood, Sir.” Stone countered with another wry smile, and Ivo didn’t believe it for even a second.

—————

After retreating back to their tent to fetch towels, feeling refreshed for the first time in weeks and smelling faintly of bergamot, Ivo banished Stone from the tent once more in order to dry off and change. He didn’t quite know whether it was to preserve his own modesty or to remove any and all temptation he may have to focus on the droplets of water that slowly rolled down the other’s bare chest as he dried off his hair… but the fact that that thought even crossed his mind to begin with signalled it was most likely the latter. 

Once summoned, Stone returned to find the Doctor attempting to trim his moustache with a small pair of scissors he had found in the toolbox, the past two weeks without time or motivation to care for his appearance had resulted in it growing long enough to curl down over his upper lip in a rather irritating fashion.

“Looking good, Doctor.”

R obotnik snorted dismissively, “Were we back on earth I would schedule you for an eye exam, agent, as we clearly are not observing the same thing here.” he took one last rueful look at his reflection before discarding the small mirror he had been holding.

S tone slumped down beside him, placing a hand on Ivo’s knee in a gently reassuring gesture, that the doctor did appreciate, even if it was wholly unnecessary.

“Don’t get me wrong, Stone, this isn’t some self-pitying ‘Woe is me, I’m hideous’ performance,” he snatched up the mirror again and began gesturing at the sorry state of his unstyled moustache, “It’s simply a matter of presentation, of structure... if I don’t look like myself, I don’t feel like myself. Ever since we landed here it feels like I’ve become an entirely different person.”

“Different isn’t necessarily bad.” Stone offered.

“No, but without a mission, a purpose- my machines- what exactly am I? A genius trapped on a world that hasn’t even discovered fire yet…”

“Are you calling me a caveman?” Stone asked with a quirk of an eyebrow and enough joviality in his voice to suggest he had meant it as a joke, the doctor however, was not particularly amused.

He sighed and set the mirror down once more, perhaps it was too much to ask for Stone to understand the complex mix of emotions he had been wrestling with almost from the moment he had awakened from his extended slumber. He could barely comprehend them himself.

The downturn in his mood must have shown in his face, because next thing he knew Stone was taking his hand between both of his own and raising it to his lips, “I’m sorry, doctor, I didn’t mean to make light of how you’re feeling.”

Ivo withdrew his hand from the other’s grasp and placed it against his cheek, gently stroking his thumb across his cheekbone, “I know you mean well.” he muttered, “You’re my one constant, Stone, the only thing I can be sure of.” The agent had always been a remarkably good sounding board for the doctor’s many schemes, and now more than ever it was just so easy to vocalise his thoughts when he was around him in an attempt to try and make sense of them. He didn’t know why it had taken him so long to finally confide in him, when he had been here, ready and willing, long before their current predicament.

“Well, in that case,” Stone leaned over and nudged the doctor’s forehead with his own in an affectionate, almost feline fashion, “If you’ll permit me to speak freely, Sir?”

Robotnik exhaled sharply through his nose and rolled his eyes, “I’d say we’re long past the need for formality, wouldn’t you? Especially after that little stunt of yours earlier.”

Stone sat up on his knees and carefully twirled the ends of the doctor’s moustache around his index finger one at a time, gently coaxing it back into his preferred shape as he continued, “I know it must be hard for you, but it’s okay to not have all the answers sometimes.”

“It’s _excruciating_.” Ivo growled, darting forward impulsively to kiss his worrying subordinate, catching him off-guard and eliciting a soft moan as he scraped his teeth against the other’s lower lip as he pulled away.

“A-Ah, but Doctor, you could have-I mean, you almost _died_.” the agent followed him as he moved back, practically clambering into his lap in an attempt to hold the doctor’s attention and stop him from retreating back inside himself once more. Ivo wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist to steady him, and promptly hid his rapidly redding face in Stone’s neck as he continued, “You’ve gone through so much in such a short amount of time, of course things feel different, we’re on an entirely different planet if you hadn’t noticed... So you needn’t be so harsh on yourself.” 

“Easy for you to say, Agent.” Ivo mumbled, his voice muffled against Stone’s neck, “You seem to be completely in your element out here.”

Stone took a moment to reply, and Robotnik wondered what it was he had said that had stopped the other so dead in his tracks. There were still a lot of unanswered questions that he had yet to fully decide how to broach with Stone, but almost as quickly as they surfaced the other man seemed to find a way to dodge them, and rather expertly at that.

“Everyone deals with things differently, Doctor. I told you, it’s my job to keep you safe, that’s what keeps me going.” 

Ivo chose not to pursue the subject any further, opting instead to focus his attention on the soft flesh of Stone’s neck, which he soon discovered was delightfully sensitive as he trailed experimental nips and kisses up towards his earlobe, feeling the other shudder and gasp in his arms each time he hit a particularly responsive spot. It certainly made a nice change to be the one putting Stone on edge, for once.

Turning his head to recapture the doctor’s lips in a bruising kiss that left Ivo seeing stars, Stone remained defiant as ever, and seemed keen to remind him of that fact. Robotnik didn’t mind all that much, if he was honest with himself, as long as Stone kept doing whatever it was he was doing with his tongue, he was perfectly happy to let the other push the boundaries a little further, for now.

“Does it still tickle?” he asked quietly when they broke apart, Stone shaking his head with a smile.

“No, much better... this on the other hand...” he replied, as he playfully nuzzled his cheek against the doctor’s scruffy jawline, causing Ivo to sigh dramatically.

“I suppose it would be too much to ask that you would have packed a razor?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay in updating!
> 
> this chapter was difficult to write in parts, as i've been suffering from a lot of lack of inspiration and motivation to write over the last few weeks, so i'm sorry if some parts are weak or jump around a little. 
> 
> next chapter is where it gets spicy, though, so that should be right on time, lmao.

"I have an idea.” 

Stone pulled Robotnik to his feet, with only mild protests from the other as he lead him back outside to survey their surroundings. The sun had fully risen at this point and was beating down on them with full force, and Ivo squinted as he allowed Stone to drag him down to the bank of the nearest river, looking thoroughly unimpressed and more than a little suspicious as they approached the water’s edge. He wasn’t keen on taking another dip, if that’s what the agent had in mind.

Stone gestured to the network of waterways that now surrounded them and stretched out as far as the eye could see, some of them close to overflowing with the sheer volume of rain that had fallen the night before.

“Which way, Doctor?”

“ _What?_ ” Ivo responded bluntly, looking back at Stone with a level of incredulity on his face that would suggest his subordinate might as well have sprouted a second head.

“You said yourself, you need purpose.” Stone continued, undeterred, “So, our next steps are up to you.”

“Are you out of your mind, Stone? I’m an engineer and a physicist not an…” he was ashamed of the fair few seconds it took for him to wrack his brains for the word that described the study of natural surroundings, “…ecologist! How the hell am I supposed to know which way to go, every direction looks the damn same.”

Stone was quite clearly biting his tongue out of amusement throughout the entirety of the doctor’s tirade, eventually piping up only in order to correct him.

“I think the word you were looking for is ‘geographer’, and really Doctor it’s not like you to downplay your skills like that, but if you really don’t think you’re up to it…” His tone was teasing and deliberately provocative, and as much as he hated the idea that Stone was using reverse psychology on him like a goddamn _child_ … he couldn’t deny that it was working.

He bristled, straightening up to his full height from where he didn’t even realise he had been slouching. “Please, the study of dirt is quite _literally_ beneath me. I’ll have our course plotted in ten minutes or less, with time left over to make you regret that cheek of yours, Agent.”

“Looking forward to it, Doctor.” Stone’s face lit up with a smile that caused the corners of his eyes to crinkle slightly, and for a moment the doctor felt his resolve shake a little. Couldn’t they just go back inside so he could kiss that smile right off his disobedient assistant’s face…?

No. He was never one to back down from a challenge, even now. 

“Smartass.” He grumbled to himself as he pushed past Stone to study the bank of the river he had taken an unceremonious dive into barely an hour earlier. Stone simply chuckled, taking a step back to watch him work.

—————

Despite his protests, Ivo wasn’t nearly as ignorant of the natural sciences as he appeared, the subject just didn’t interest him, and certainly didn’t set his soul alight like the promise and possibilities that came along with artificial lifeforms. Plus, he supposed he had become comfortable with letting Stone do the bulk of the grunt work, as he would call it, despite his usual control-freak tendencies. Any excuse to claw back some small imitation of a routine.

He followed the winding route of the river for a while, only occasionally shooting furtive glances back at Stone, who did his best to pretend that he wasn’t watching him like a hawk the entire time, with his expression betraying only a small degree of amusement at seeing the doctor so clearly out of his element.

Ignore him, he told himself. No need to overthink it, just start with the basics, honestly a monkey could do this, he isn’t special just because he knows basic orienteering…

Well, orienteers were at least provided with a map. Stone appeared to have gotten them this far on pure instinct. He couldn’t even have used the fucking _stars_ , since they too were as alien as the rest of this unbearable hellplanet.

Ivo ran a hand through his still-damp hair, scratching at his scalp irritably. Surely, if he were to fail, Stone would take over and provide them with the correct trajectory, he wouldn’t put their lives in unnecessary danger just to prove a point, would he? 

He couldn’t think like that, though, this wasn’t about Stone, this was about him, this was about proving that he was still more than capable of holding his own, even when completely out of his comfort zone.

And oh, was it so deeply, dreadfully uncomfortable.

This was unbearable, just what was he expected to deduce from staring at the same burnt orange dirt and sand that surrounded them for what might as well be hundreds of thousands of miles? He swung his foot to kick a pebble into the water petulantly, watching it skim the surface for a few seconds before sinking to the bottom of the crystal-clear riverbed. He glared daggers down at that rock, as if it and it alone were responsible for his inability to focus and lack of inspiration. 

That was when he saw it. Just a few centimetres to the left of the fallen pebble, was the tiny stem of a water plant, swaying against the current of the river.

Ivo’s eyes widened, had that always been there? Surely it couldn’t have sprouted overnight, or was that just how quickly the flora of this planet responded to the return of life-giving water to the barren landscape around them?

He quickened his pace as he continued along the riverbank, and sure enough, only a few paces further he spied another strand of green reaching up from the darker red soil of the riverbed, and then another, and another. Following the route of the river with his eyes as it stretched out into the horizon, he took note of how it seemed to widen, the smaller streams and tributaries feeding into it as it disappeared into the sunset.

“Stone!” He called back in the direction of the tent, and a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as he heard the other scramble to attention, knocking over something in the process, having been caught off-guard. “I assume you have binoculars?”

More scrambling and shuffling emanated from the tent, then the sound of hurried footsteps as Stone rushed to his side, offering up the binoculars with bright-eyes and a grin as he hovered at his elbow, eagerly awaiting the doctor’s grand discovery.

Up ahead, beyond where the naked eye could see, stood the wirey, solitary shape of a bare sapling. Pushing up from the seemingly barren red soil and reaching towards the unforgiving light of the sun, life was returning to the desert before their very eyes. Words could not accurately describe the level of elation he felt as he watched that struggling sapling sway in the breeze. Even in such dire circumstances, it still steadfastly insisted on braving the harsh climate, to find a way to survive even when it seemed patently impossible to do so.

The doctor lowered the binoculars from his face a moment later, victory and relief radiating from his expression as he passed them back to Stone. They were no longer drifting in the wind, without a mission, without a purpose. He had found that for them.

“We have our destination.” He took Stone’s free hand, while the agent confirmed the objective for himself, still proud, but more than a little saddened that it had taken him this long to regain such a small amount of confidence in himself following the crash. “You handed this to me, didn’t you?” He murmured softly.

“Of course not, Doctor.” Stone squeezed his hand gently. “I knew you could do it, you just needed a little… push, is all.”

—————

The journey that dominated the remaining light-hours of that day, and two subsequently, was almost dreamlike, as they trudged through their rapidly shifting surroundings like wide-eyed pilgrims from a fairytale. With every step they took, nature was beginning to reclaim the landscape from the unknown number of days of lifelessness. Unnamed plants and flowers sprung up from their footprints and as the series of waterways converged into one grand, rushing river, the two of them soon found themselves entering a thicket of pale, gnarled trees that seemed to blossom before their very eyes. 

The speed in which they transitioned from the nightmarish red desert into what only could be described as the lushest, most verdant forest either of them had ever seen was truly astounding, and neither of them could find the words to express the deep sense of wonder they both felt as they walked, choosing instead to simply clutch each other’s hand tightly and remain in silent awe as they made their way deeper into the trees.

—————

Ivo gazed up at the leafy canopy above him, from where he sat cross-legged on the grass, occasionally glancing over as Stone hacked his way through several branches with a wicked looking hatchet. He’d never thought he could feel anything akin to safety in such an environment, so exposed and unprotected, without the comforting walls and wires that had surrounded his entire existence for so many years, but as he watched his agent strip the bark from the logs he had collected and carefully stack them within a circle of stones, he didn’t think he’d ever felt so secure. 

“Ta-da! I’ve discovered fire.” Stone announced with a flourish of his hands as the campfire roared to life in front of him, bathing his gentle features with a warm orange glow as the sun began to set behind the dense treeline.

“Congratulations, Agent! You’ve been promoted from Caveman to Peasant.” His words were pointed, but lacked any real venom behind them. It would take far longer than a few days to change a livelong habit of compulsive tactlessness, but he offered the other a compensatory smile regardless.

“Does it come with a raise?” Stone shot back, playing along with the ruse as he shuffled through a selection of packaged MRE’s to decide on their evening meal, the options having widened somewhat now that they were able to both heat and hydrate their food.

“Absolutely not.”

The resulting meal was… tolerable. The novelty of being able to eat it hot was alone enough to earn it a passing grade in Ivo’s book, though he had never been much of a gourmet. However, it was the mug of liquid that Stone placed in his hands while he had been distracted, staring into the dancing red and yellow flames of their campfire following the meal, that truly thrilled him.

He recognised the all too familiar scent almost immediately, and as he spun around to face the other, his eyes grew wide and his jaw practically hit the floor as he realised exactly what Stone had given him.

“How-?”

“I found it in one of the ration packs and was saving it. This seemed as good a time as any to celebrate.”

In the battered tin mug that he now held, was an unmistakable light brown beverage that let off gentle steam as he cradled it between his hands. Stone had made him coffee.

Just from the smell alone he could tell it was cheap instant coffee, but to Ivo it might as well have been the rarest, hand-ground beans and perfectly steamed milk, that was how overjoyed the feeling of the hot metal cup in his hands made him feel as the warmth spread up from his fingertips and throughout his entire body. 

He raised it to take a sip and as the hot liquid kissed his lips and his mouth was flooded with a familiar bitterness that he had oh-so desperately missed, he didn’t even care if it burned his tongue, this was bliss.

When he reopened his eyes, Stone had taken a seat beside him, that soft smile ever-present as he appeared to have been observing him the entire time. He was too overjoyed to feel self-conscious, and simply shuffled closer to the other and leaned against him as they both gazed into the fire, letting the world grow dark around them as he took small, occasional sips, wanting to savour it for as long as humanly possible.

“Can I ask you something, Doctor?” Stone broke the silence once the sun had fully set and the only light left emanated from the fire at their feet.

“Mmm.” Ivo hummed softly, lowering the cup from his lips and resting his head against his agent’s shoulder.

“It’s a little personal, so you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Ivo exhaled sharply through his nose, “Oh dear, are you having boy scout flashbacks, Agent? Are we going to play ‘Truth or Dare’?”

Stone’s shoulder trembled a little as a chuckle rumbled in his chest, “More like ‘Never Have I Ever’, but if it’s too much-”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Go ahead.” A soft sigh was followed by another sip of coffee .

“Has there really never been anyone else?”

Stone’s question hung in the air between them for a moment, and Ivo raised his head from where it had been resting on Stone’s shoulder in order to analyse his expression, keen to assess his intentions. He had expected morbid curiosity with maybe a hint of mirth, but instead found disbelief tinged with sadness. It wouldn’t hurt to tell him, besides, it wasn’t like his rather turbulent upbringing was much of a secret to anyone who worked alongside him for long enough.

“I suppose there was a boy in my engineering course in college that I had some amount of affection for.”

Stone remained quiet and quirked his eyebrows as if imploring him to continue.

“I was fast tracked through high school, _naturally,_ and was fifteen by the time I entered college. He was nineteen, so it wouldn’t have been particularly healthy even if he had reciprocated… but instead, upon my proposal that we meet up after class to discuss robotics over coffee or something similar, he chose to call me a queer, and a creep, and made sure that anyone on campus within earshot knew about it.“ He took a large gulp of his coffee. “I transferred a week later, I couldn’t bear the humiliation.”

Stone had visibly flinched at the slur, and Robotnik had a hunch that his experience wasn’t entirely different to Stone’s either. “I’m sorry, Doctor. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Ivo shook his head and looked back at the fire, watching the logs crack and crumble as they burned out, leaving nothing but embers behind. It was an old wound, long healed, but it could be argued that it was likely one of the final nails in the coffin of his interest in human beings as a source of affection and fulfilment. That was, until Stone had so expertly reanimated it.

“Perhaps it was my mistake to assume that I could exorcise that part of myself completely, that immersing myself in work could fill the hole left behind, when really it just made it all the more obvious once I lost that distraction.”

Stone remained silent for a while, opting instead to gently coax the doctor back into his arms, Ivo’s head resting on his shoulder once again and an arm wound firmly around his waist. 

“We’ll find a way for you to have both, Doctor.” He murmured, pressing a kiss against his temple. “Once we get done fighting for our lives, at least.”

Robotnik set his now empty cup aside, eyelids heavy, but not from exhaustion, as he grasped the front of Stone’s shirt with both hands and pulled him so close that his words ghosted across the other’s lips as they left his own. 

“For now, I just want to have you.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW from here on lads, enjoy!

The two of them tumbled down onto the mismatched blankets that served as their bedsheets, their lips locked and clumsy hands tugging on each other’s clothing needily until they were forced to pull away only by their bodies deeply irritating demand to breathe.

Stone placed a hand over the noticeably growing bulge between Robotnik’s legs, and began stroking him through the thin fabric that did nothing to disguise how excited he was to finally have Stone so close.

What should he do? Where should he put his hands? Leaning back and letting Stone do all the work didn’t seem fair, and was completely contrary to his own character, regardless. Stone, ever the telepath it would seem, placed the palm of his free hand gently against the doctor’s chest and slowly pushed him back down to rest his head on their makeshift pillows.

“Relax, Doctor.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Ivo huffed indignantly, despite the flush of red that now dominated his pale features.

Stone hummed softly, a smile quirking at the corners of his soft lips, “Maybe not, but I can tell that this-“ he lifted the hand from Ivo’s chest and tapped his temple with two fingers, “-is running wild. For once just... try not to overthink it, enjoy the ride.”

“What if I want to get off the ride?” he asked, averting his gaze for fear that he might offend the other with such an enquiry. Stone would allow no such avoidance tactics however, as he cradled the doctor’s chin in his hand and turned his face back to meet his own.

“Then tell me and we can hit the brakes any time you want.”

“…this is a painfully overwrought metaphor, Stone.” 

Stone smirked, “You’re the one that can’t talk about sex without blushing.” His tone was determined and challenging, as if he were daring the other to stop him, which of course Ivo didn’t, especially not once Stone had hastily pulled the doctor’s shirt up and over his head and placed his hands very pointedly over his pectoral muscles, palms spread as they drifted up and down his form, as if Stone was attempting to commit every mole, every scar, to memory.

Ivo huffed again and flopped back onto the pillows, “Your-“ he hesitated, the silence between them was oppressive and he felt an overwhelming need to fill it, but what exactly was he supposed to say in a situation like this? “Your hands have healed up nicely.” he settled on, chewing his lower lip as Stone took this as an invitation to slowly rub the pad of his thumb over a nipple, dipping his head down to take the other into his mouth and flicking his tongue over the sensitive flesh.

“All thanks to you.” He murmured, before pinching the stiffened nub between his fingers and nipping with his teeth simultaneously in a move that made the doctor clench his jaw and hiss, his back arching up and against Stone in an unconscious plea for more. 

Hearing it loud and clear, Stone switched his attention to Ivo’s neck, trailing kisses across his clavicle and up the bridge of his throat until he reached the area just below the doctor’s ear. Nuzzling against that tender spot just behind his jaw caused Robotnik to squirm, but before he had a chance to protest such teasing, Stone had already sunk his teeth into the soft flesh and was sucking a deep red bruise into his alabaster skin. 

Ivo let out a cry of surprise, causing Stone to hesitate for a moment, but as soon as he caught sight of how the good doctor craned and bared his neck in invitation, he resumed with even more ferocity than before, trailing biting, bruising kisses up and down the throat of his willing prey.

Upon reaching his collar bone, Stone pulled back suddenly, causing Robotnik to let out an involuntary whimper at the loss of contact. 

“You’re so cute, Doctor...” Stone purred, resting back on his haunches and admiring his handiwork. 

Chest heaving, his neck peppered with reddening marks and his eyes phasing in and out of focus, Ivo was a wreck, and far too needy and overwhelmed to feel that creeping sense of shame that had harried him at every turn up until this point. Now all he could think about was Stone, and what else he had in store for him as he reached out weakly to urge the other to return.

Stone complied, but he had his eyes on a different prize this time. His hands glided down Ivo’s sides as he went lower, pausing to press his lips against every scar he passed until he’d reached the doctor’s navel. A trail of soft reddish-brown hair lead down from his bellybutton before disappearing under the waistband of his pants and Ivo had to bite his lip to stifle a laugh as Stone’s facial hair tickled his stomach. 

Glancing up for final confirmation, Stone didn’t need much more than the vigorous nodding of Ivo’s head that sent his hair falling across his face in sweat-dampened locks before he popped the button without a second thought and made sure to demonstrate a great deal of pleasure in pulling the zip down with just his teeth.

Ivo closed his eyes, bracing himself for some sigh of resignation or murmur of disappointment. Stone had held a candle for the doctor for so long, it was only logical that he must have an idealised vision of this moment in his mind, and what if he didn’t measure up to the other’s expectations?

Luckily, that was very much not the case, as Stone pulled aside the remaining layers that kept them separated and paused to admire the rapidly hardening length that rose to meet him.

“Impressive as always, Doctor.” 

R obotnik shuddered as Stone placed the tip of his index finger against the head of his cock, carefully smearing the droplets of pre-come that were already leaking eagerly from his now fully erect member. He withdrew the touch slowly, watching with amusement as the thin strand of clear liquid that connected them stretched and snapped.

His  stomach muscles tensed as Stone took him in hand and lowered his lips to brush against the velvety tip, testing the waters with a few tentative swipes of his tongue that made the doctor’s breathing hitch.

Ivo was transfixed, paralysed by a combination of confusion and fascination, he had no concept, no reference points for any of Stone’s actions, the what and the why were completely elusive to him. The only thing he could be sure of was: he didn’t want Stone to stop.

S tone continued his torturously slow ministrations, not once taking his eyes off Robotnik as he studied his reactions through thick, dark lashes, trailing experimental licks across every inch of him, honing in on the most sensitive places as he attempted to elicit the strongest reaction possible.

“Tell me what you want, Doctor.”

“I-just-“ he choked out breathlessly in between heavy gasps.

“Just... shut up and blow you?” The agent enquired with a smirk, dragging his lips along the underside of his shaft teasingly.

“ _Please._ ”

“Yes, Sir.” 

Returning his full attention to the task at hand, Stone tightened his grip around the other’s shaft as he took just a few inches of him into his mouth, punctuating each bob of his head with a deft flick of his wrist and a painfully drawn-out swirl of his tongue across the tip. 

Clawing desperately for something to ground him, Robotnik’s fingers entwined with Stones hair, which by now had grown long enough for him to grasp and take a rather satisfying pull each time the other swiped his tongue over a particularly sensitive spot.

However,  h e was not expecting the deep, guttural moan that such an action would elicit from the agent, as it bubbled up from within his throat and sent vibrations right through Ivo’s core like shockwaves.  T he jolt of electricity that ran up his spine, spurred on by the others touch, was terrifying... and overwhelmingly thrilling. His nerves were under assault by a surge of unfamiliar sensations, so much so that it made his head spin and stars dance behind his eyelids.

His lips parted in a silent cry as Stone took him in fully, swallowing around the considerable mouthful and causing Ivo to buck his hips involuntarily, desperately seeking out more of that delicious, wet heat. He pulled back after a few seconds of letting the doctor grind against the back of his throat, his cock slipping past his lips with a filthy popping noise, followed by copious amounts of drool. He proceeded to run his tongue up the full length from base to tip, seemingly relishing the way the doctor’s hips twitched and jerked instinctively. 

He continued on like this for what felt like an eternity to Ivo.  E very time he felt himself reaching his limit, Stone would pull back or do something fiendish with his tongue that kept him constantly swaying back and forth between pleasure and desperation.

“S-Stone.” He hiccupped softly once he could no longer bare the other’s torturously slow touch in silence, causing Stone to cease teasing at the ridge of the head with the tip of his tongue.

“Yes, Doctor?” His response was light and airy, and his expression would have been picture-perfect innocence if he wasn’t currently resting the doctor’s saliva-slick cock against his cheek.

“Don't make me beg, Stone.” He groaned, his face flushed red and his breathing heavy.

“I don’t want you to beg, Doctor, I want you to order me.”

Ivo’s heart skipped a beat. “Wha-“

“I’m quite happy to deep-throat you until you forget your own name, but I’d be even happier if you _ordered_ me to.” His voice was low and husky, and from the way his eyes flashed, deadly serious.

A spark burst into life inside his chest. A flickering ember of the confidence-that chaotic self-assuredness- he had once felt, was still there, and as he watched Stone implore him to take the lead, to reclaim his rightful position, that spark erupted into a flame.

“…open your mouth, Agent.” His eyes grew dark, his jaw set.

Stone’s lips parted obediently, his tongue hanging out eagerly as Robotnik grabbed a fistful of the agent’s hair and slowly pulled him back down onto him, inch by inch, impressed that he faced no resistance or reflex as he pushed fully inside. A low moan rumbled in the other’s chest almost gratefully, his tongue laying flat against the underside of the cock now occupying his throat, and his nose buried in soft curls. 

Ivo didn’t need any more encouragement once the fire had fully engulfed him, dragging Stone’s head back only a few inches before thrusting back inside, testing the agent’s limits as he worked up a jagged, urgent rhythm. There was no precision to his movements, only instinct as he proceeded to roughly fuck Stone’s mouth until he felt tension begin to pool in his lower abdomen.

His climax tore through him like a force of nature and he came hard and fast against the back of Stone’s throat, forcing him to swallow thickly as the doctor reflexively clamped his legs around the other man’s head, raking his fingernails across his agent’s scalp and riding the waves of his orgasm until he collapsed back down on the twisted mess of blankets beneath him, boneless and utterly spent.

A soft choking noise and the gentle tapping of fingers against his hip broke through the afterglow after a minute or so, and alerted him to the fact that he was still trapping the other man quite securely between his thighs, Stones lips remaining firmly locked around the base of his slowly softening cock.

He quickly released his hold on the other once he realised exactly what he had done, fumbling a little as he attempted to unhook his legs from over Stone’s shoulders.

Stone pulled away with a deep, spluttering gasp for air that would have worried Ivo if it were not accompanied by the open-mouthed, hazy-eyed look of a man completely undone by lust. His pupils were blown out and his chest heaved, a thick strand of saliva still connecting his slightly swollen lower lip to the head of Ivo’s cock. He collapsed against the doctor, resting his cheek against his inner thigh as he panted, his voice audibly hoarse and raspy from the rough treatment, tears rolling down his face as his watery eyes overflowed.

In a strange turn of events, Ivo found himself the most level-headed of the two of them, the aftermath of his release having afforded him an unexpected clarity once the aftershocks had worn off. He gently ran his fingers through the other man’s hair, smoothing down the area where he had been holding on for dear life only a minute prior, as his breathing began to regulate and the composed agent he knew slowly returned. He appreciated the rare moment of vulnerability he had been able to witness, if only for a brief moment.

Stone wiped a thumb across his wet lips as he slowly got back up to his knees, eyes darting up to meet Robotnik’s in a way that the doctor was all too familiar with, but that he hadn’t yet seen since they had left earth. Stone was silently seeking his approval, in fact he seemed almost desperate for it, as if the years he’d spent in silent yearning had all been leading up to this moment… and in a way, they had.

Ivo sat up and grasped the front of Stone’s shirt, pulling him closer, his dear assistant crawling between his legs to meet him halfway. 

“You’re so cute, Stone.” He murmured, echoing the other’s own words as he laid claim to the agent’s lips once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
